Sundrenched World
by StellaGreene
Summary: During her sixth year at Hogwarts Lily finds that all's fair in love and war.
1. Goodbye

Disclaimer- Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Lily Evans ran down platform 9 and 3/4 trying to keep up with the rest of the students. Her hair was sticking to her face, and her trunk was much heavier than she had anticipated. Frustrated, Lily groaned and came to a stop. Looking around, she saw many familiar faces and smiled. Her break had been rather uneventful, and she was glad to be going back to Hogwarts. The whole summer Petunia had ignored her as usual, and Severus suddenly became too busy to spend time with her. Lily couldn't wait to have some company, and to catch up with friends.

"Lily, goodness! Don't you ever run so fast again, you're going to hurt yourself! Do you have all of your things? All of your books?"

"Mom, calm down, I have absolutely everything," walking over to her mom, Lily gave her a long hug; she had to admit that she was going to miss her parents.

"Now Tunia, give your sister a hug, come on!"

Petunia looked as if she had swallowed a large bug; her nose wrinkled up, yet she walked over to Lily and gave her the stiffest hug that one could possibly receive. However, she pulled away faster than someone on fire, and took a few steps back. Lily, not expecting anything different, waved goodbye and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

"Lily."

She had barely walked down the train corridor, when someone whispered her name. Turning around she saw Sev, sticking his head out of a compartment. He looked as pale as ever; dark circles formed under his brown eyes. He gestured for her to come inside, and she obliged, wanting an explanation for his behavior. Not that Lily was stupid of course, she had known for quite some time now that Sev was involved with a shady group of characters who were keen on supporting a dark wizard, Voldemort.

"Listen Sev, I don't know why you're talking to me now. I told you that I didn't want to be friends with someone who was following Death Eaters," Lily sat down, anger fleeting across her face.

Sev had been her dear friend, after all, he was the first person to tell her about Hogwarts. She thought that they had shared so much, but lately their friendship had diminished. At first Lily had been sad, but with time her emotions were replaced with disappointment and acceptance.

"Lily, please, it's not like that at all. I wanted to talk to you, I was going to write, but I got so caught up," Severus began pleading.

"Doing what? Nasty pranks? Tormenting others?"

"If you're going to talk about nasty pranks, you should really consider what your fellow house members are up to. All last year, Potter and his stupid gang spent all of their-"

Before Severus could finish what he was saying, the door pulled open, and three boys entered, all laughing, and all wearing Slytherin robes. They stopped in their tracks and looked at Severus; clearly surprised to see him. Lily followed their eyes and saw disgust on their faces. Of course, being seen with Lily meant that Sev's reputation would go down the drain.

"Severus, what are you doing? Were you talking to her?"

"Me? Talk to someone like Evans? I don't think so," Severus stood up and glared at Lily. The three intruders looked satisfied and invited Severus to join them in a different compartment.

"One that's free of filth," muttered the tallest of the three, as they all piled out, leaving Lily completely alone.

Straightening her robes, Lily stood up and made her way to the prefects compartment. She wasn't the least bit offended by what Mulciber said. People like him thought that having muggle parents made you less worthy, Lily however, knew otherwise. During her first five years at Hogwarts, she had gained a reputation for being exceptionally smart, plus she had a dab for potions, and was appraised by Professor Slughorn.

What had hurt Lily though, was the fact that Sev didn't stand up for her. Last year, he had called her a Mudblood after she helped him out of a sticky situation with Potter and his friends. After the incident, he apologized countless times, but Lily told him that they had both chosen their sides. It took almost a month for her to forgive him, yet she had, and now she felt as betrayed by him as ever.

"Lily, there you are, we're supposed to be patrolling the corridors, you missed the speech."

"Remus!"

Running up to her fellow class mate, Lily gave him a huge hug. Remus Lupin was the only person out of Potter's circle of friends that Lily tolerated and liked. He was smart and observant, unlike the loud and arrogant Potter. James Potter was in Gryffindor, and in the same year as Lily. However, Lily couldn't stand the sight of him, and often wondered why the Sorting Hat placed him in a house that was supposed to uphold bravery, honor, and chivalry. He thought much too highly of himself, walked around as if he owned the school, and worst of all made it his mission to get Lily to go out with him. Potter had three best friends; Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Sirius was very handsome, but almost just as careless as James. Peter was...well Peter. Lily couldn't tell very much about him, except that he seemed very happy to be included in a group.

"Good to see you again Lily. How was your summer?"

"Not so great. It was nice spending time with my parents, but my sister thinks that I'm a freak," Lily laughed and pointed to her wand. "It's like she thinks that I'm going to curse her any minute. But anyway, how was your summer Remus?"

"Well Sirius and I stayed with James for a while, Peter couldn't make it."

"Honestly Remus, I don't see why you spend so much time with those three. What could you all possibly have in common?"

"The fact that we all find you super attractive Evans."

Potter had walked up behind Lily without her noticing and was now leaning down to whisper in her ear. Lily jumped, turned around, and smacked him on the side of his head. She had told him so many times that she would never be interested in someone like him, but he remained just as determined, and refused to give her space.

"You toerag, get away from me!"

"I might if you agree to go on a date with me. How does a trip to Hogsmeade sound?"

Lily rolled her eyes and pushed around Potter, walking in the opposite direction. She was in no mood for his stupid jokes. His humor was plain ill, and Lily wanted some peace and quiet. She began looking into every compartment, trying to find her best friend. Where was that girl?

Lily kept walking along until she saw one compartment whose door was slightly open. She was almost about to pass it, when she heard hushed voices coming from the inside. The voices were clearly arguing and as much as Lily felt that she should walk away, she couldn't. Not because Lily was nosy, no, but because one of the voices belonged to Sev.

"I don't know, I just don't know," yelled Sev.

"Come on Severus, you have to do it sometime, what are you waiting for? You're about to turn sixteen, forget making school your top priority. Listen, we can help. Avery's father is very well connected if you know what I mean. All I'm saying is that we need to take further steps to assure that we have the highest honor when the time comes. We can do something useful for a change, mere support and admiration won't get us anywhere..."

Lily pulled away from the door, shock flowing through her body. What was Mulciber talking about? Whatever it was, sounded dangerous and Lily didn't know why Sev had gotten himself into this whole deal. Was he planning to actually do something to help Voldemort? He was still in school, only a sixth year, there was no way that Sev would hurt anyone.

"Lil! Where have you been?"

A perky little brunette, with curly hair, green eyes, and a large smile on her face, ran up to Lily and gave her a huge hug. Amelie had been Lily's best friend ever since their first year. Even though the two girls had many different traits from one another, they had somehow balanced each other out and stuck together. Amelie adored Divination and was intent on becoming a Healer. While Lily studied however, Amelie found more pleasure in chatting up boys.

"I was talking to Remus, and then I overheard Sev talking to Mulciber and Avery. Mulciber was trying to persuade Sev to do something, I don't know what, I couldn't tell, but it sounded really suspicious. He hardly talked to me all summer, but I just don't want for him to get involved with that crowd," ranted Lily.

"Lil, you have always cared too much for that boy. He is obviously up to no good! You are so kind and trusting, but you have got to leave him alone. The way that he treated you last year? Unacceptable! But if they really are up to something then I think that we should tell someone, maybe Dumbledore? Professor Mcgonagall?"

"No! No way Amelie! Sev was my friend, and as much as you don't like him, I don't want to get him into trouble over something that I know nothing about. We should at least wait, find out more."

"You mean spy on Severus?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm implying. I want to know what he is up to."

"Well, if you're really up for that, I know a few mighty fine boys who have a knack for things like that," giggled Amelie.

"Ugh, you need to develop better taste," retorted Lily, knowing that Amelie meant Potter, Sirius, and Remus.

Amelie had become infatuated with Sirius last year, when they had to be partners in Herbology. Ever since then, she had begged Lily constantly to go out with James, and to set her up with Sirius. _"You can tell James that you will go on a date with him if he brings Sirius along, then you can bring me, and voila!"_ Lily, who found the idea revolting, always shook her head, and told Amelie that she was sure that Sirius would be perfectly happy to go out with her if she had asked him herself.

Shortly after night fall, the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogwarts. Lily had just finished putting on her robes when Amelie pulled her outside. Amelie had never been the patient type, and she was definitely found of the first day back feast. Lily however, was not as eager, seeing as she knew that the possibility of having to sit close to Potter was high. She couldn't even count all of the times that Potter had ruined her dinners before, either with stupid remarks, or just by being himself.

"We'll never find a carriage at this rate," complained Amelie, as the two girls made their way towards the road that led up to Hogwarts.

"Don't be so negative, look, there is one right there," replied Lily, pushing Amelie into the first carriage that she saw.

Amelie tried to fight back, but it was too late. Lily got in behind her, closed the door, and sat down right beside Severus. An awkward silence passed, as Lily exchanged looks with Amelie. Amelie's eyes slowed on the door, but Lily shook her head. It would be too rude to leave now. Glancing over at Sev, Lily saw that he looked just as mortified.

"Lil, I know that you probably don't want to hear this, but I need to apologize. I am so sorry. Please understand."

"I do understand. I understand that I was right about what I said last year. You're on a path that is leading no where good Sev. Stop now, why are you doing this? What does Voldemort have to offer you?"

"Don't say his name," shrieked Amelie, getting into the conversation.

"Lil, you don't get it, you weren't brought up in the same family that I was. You're a Gryffindor for goodness sakes! Everything is so much easier for you, your parents don't care about the path that you choose. But it's not even about that, it's about the fact that you're too blinded by the whole chivalry thing to even look at what could be better for you."

"Lily is ten times the person that you are," chirped Amelie.

"Amelie, please," begged Lily. "And Sev, I am not the one who is blinded. Yes, the world is not black and white, but Mulciber and Avery are not just dabbling into something that's in between. I overheard the conversation ya'll had on the train, not all of it, just a small part, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but tell me Sev, what was that all about?"

"Don't ask questions that you don't want answers to. I don't know what you heard, but I suggest that you put it out of your mind. You don't want to get into Mulcibers's business," warned Severus.

"I don't care about Mulciber. Anyway, what he said sounded a lot like it was going to become your business Sev."

"Maybe, maybe not. Look, why can't we just be friends without you interrogating me? Am I doing anything to hurt you? I still think that you are wonderful Lil."

"Oh please, don't make me laugh. Was it not you who said that talking to someone like me would be a disgrace?"

"I didn't say those exact words, and I didn't mean it! You know that I didn't!"

"Just leave me alone Sev, you have done too much damage," snapped Lily, sitting back in her seat, and turning to look out of the window.

For the rest of the ride up to Hogwarts, everyone was silent. Lily was glad that Amelie didn't try to make small talk because Lily's mind was far off in wonder land. She thought about her and Sev, how they had always supported each other. He had told her all about his drunken father, and she had told him about being the black sheep in her family. At the beginning of last year, Lily could have never predicted that things would end up like this. Sev had really liked her, he had taken her on walks around the castle, he had been a gentleman. Lily even considered that their friendship could grow into something more. How stupid of her.


	2. A Friendly Competition

Minutes seemed like hours to Lily, who despised having to be in such a confined space with Sev. However, the carriage finally came to a stop, and he jumped out without saying as much as a goodbye. Amelie huffed, and followed his lead; carefully, trying not to mention the conversation that took place earlier to Lily.

"It's okay, you can say what you're thinking," suggested Lily, who knew that her friend wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut for much longer.

"I think that Severus is in trouble, but as I've said before, I don't think that he deserves your kindness. Lil, I know that you had feelings for him, but he's not worth it."

"I did not have feelings for him. We were just friends."

"Are you kidding me? He obviously adored you! He couldn't ever keep his eyes off of you, and he has always been super jealous of James. Envy like that doesn't just spur out of no where."

"Well, whatever he felt for me, he doesn't anymore," retorted Lily, making her way into the Great Hall.

Deep inside, Lily knew that Amelie had a point. Lily wasn't ever the girl who knew much about boys, but she wasn't dumb either. Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, Lily looked to the other side of the room, where Sev was huddled up with Mulciber. Deciding to ignore the current situation, she then looked over to the head of the room, and saw that Professor Dumbledore had stood up to make his usual speech.

"Good evening boys and girls, and welcome back to Hogwarts. I hope that you all had pleasant vacations, but now it is time, once again, to pursue your education..."

"Evans, you look a bit spooked out. Everything okay?"

"Potter? How did you get here? Be quiet, can't you see that Dumbledore is talking?"

"What are you going on about? You sat down by me Evans, finally coming to your senses I see huh?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I didn't see you there, or I would have picked a better seat."

"Well your friend Amelie doesn't seem to mind," grinned James. And sure enough, Lily saw that Amelie was now admiring Sirius who was sheepishly smiling.

"That's because she is not right next to you."

"She can wish. But really, are you okay?"

"What is it to you? You're foul."

"Whatever Evans, I was just trying to be nice," snapped James, as he moved further down the row.

Lily realized that she had probably been too harsh, and that her anger was being taken out on the wrong person, yet it felt good. She had never been malicious, in fact she was known to be quite a sweet girl, but tonight was just a bad night. She had never gotten into a real fight with anyone before, which made fighting with Sev that much more difficult. There had been arguments with Petunia, but they could hardly count. Tuning back to Dumbledore's speech, Lily heard the last few words of advice.

"As you all know, a dark wizard, Voldemort, is on the rise. Therefore, I would deem it prudent to stay as safe as possible. Like always the Forbidden Forest is off limits to anyone wishing not to get detention, and being out of bed after hours will be punished. But now, let us all get some rest."

_

Lying down in her warm bed Lily pulled the blankets up to get neck, and fluffed her pillows. Finally settling in a comfortable position she reminisced over her long day. Everything was different now. People started growing into who they really were, and Lily wasn't sure whether she liked it. She missed the way that things were, when they were all just eleven. Being eleven had meant innocence, ignorance. Ignorance was bliss...

Just as Lily began drifting off into sleep, she was awakened by a loud noise. She bolted up and looked around. All of the other girls in the room were dead asleep; their slow breathing echoing through the room. But there it was again, the noise. If Tristan was trying to sneak out of bed again, Lily would not permit it. Last year, Tristan was only a first year, yet he gave Lily more trouble than any other boy in Gryffindor. She was always catching him out and about. Deciding to investigate, Lily slipped out of her bed and tip toed to the dormitory door. Pressing her ear against the crack, she listened.

"Be quiet, you're going to wake someone up with all that racket, where is the cloak? Come on, put it over us. Damn it, you stepped on my foot!"

"Yeah you're right, someone will wake up if you don't stop talking, now let's go."

Lily heard Fat Lady's portrait open and close before everything became silent once again. Not wasting any time, she put on slippers and ran down the stairs. Potter and Sirius were out of bed after hours. This was something that Lily had never had the pleasure of catching them doing, even though she knew that they did. Climbing out of the portrait hole, Lily followed the barely existent footsteps. She couldn't see Potter or Sirius, yet she knew that they were there ahead of her, for she could hear them.

"Do you think that he's okay?"

"I don't know Sirius, you know how he gets. He is always so hard on himself, always blames himself," whispered James.

"Well that's why it's important for us to be there to cheer him up."

"How long do you think it will take until we can master...well you know," questioned James.

"I have no idea, it's really complicated magic, very tricky and if it goes wrong, well, never mind that now."

"I bet we can do it in a week tops."

"I wouldn't be so sure," replied Sirius.

"So did you see the way that Evans talked to me today?"

"When was that? When she accidentally sat by you?"

"There are no accidents my dear friend, only fate," recited James, holding his hand to his heart and laughing.

"Right well, where did you put the map? Let's check it again."

"No need, everything is completely clear, Filch is sleeping in his office."

Lily's heartbeat quickened as she processed the conversation. Who were they going to see, and why were they so worried? Perhaps Lupin had been hurt, but that didn't make much since. Lupin was a Gryffindor, he slept in the same room as them, they wouldn't of had to go out to check on him. All that Lily had to do now was to stay unnoticed. As long as Potter and Sirius didn't discover her, she would find out what they were up to.

As it turned out, staying unnoticed was rather difficult; Lily had no idea of which way Potter and Sirius were looking so she had to keep on hiding behind walls and statues. Once they were outside, they started running. Lily ran too, but stayed a fair distance behind; not to be heard. They ran all the way down the hill, towards the Whomping Willow. Here, Lily stopped and stayed further back. It would be downright crazy to get close to that tree. Having read 'Hogwarts: A History' a few times, Lily knew that the Whomping Willow was known for causing a few accidents and bruises.

A moment later, Potter threw off what looked liked some sort of a cloak, and the two boys were revealed at last. Lily, remained hidden behind a bush, crouched low to the ground. She watched as the two boys approached the tree without a second thought, bent down, and slid through an opening. Standing up, Lily was about to head back to the castle, when her curiosity got the best of her.

Certainly if Potter had managed to not get hit by the tree, Lily could do the same. Making her way closer, Lily took out her wand and held it out; ready for anything. She was within a few inches of the branches, when she felt the wind being knocked out of her. Clearly, the Whomping Willow saw her face as a much more attractive target than Potter's. Falling face flat in the grass, Lily moaned and scrambled up.

"How am I less worthy of entering than Potter huh?"

Pointing her wand at the tree Lily stood there for a few more minutes, until finally deciding that trying to get near it again would be pointless. Gathering up any strength that she had left, Lily made her way back up the hill. The walk back to the Gryffindor common room, was much more unpleasant than earlier. Lily was alone and the shadows seemed to lurk out at her, as if they were going to strike at any second. It felt like ages until she found her way back into her warm bed, however, when she did, she was asleep before she had the chance to reflect on what had happened.

The next morning, Lily woke up later than usual, and hurried down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Amelie had already gone down, and Lily felt frustrated, seeing as she had wanted to share with her best friend what she saw last night. Instead, grabbing some toast and strawberry jelly, Lily settled for reading the morning post of the Daily Prophet.

"That's a very unique scratch that you have there Evans."

Looking up, Lily saw that Potter was standing above her, examining her head with a confused expression. It was as if she could see the wheels turning in his thick head as he thought of what could have given her such an injury. Thinking of an excuse, Lily stuffed more toast into her mouth and shrugged.

"Have you been...well what I'm trying to say is that...where were you last night?"

"I was in my bed just like you were I suspect," declared Lily, knowing that she wasn't ready to admit to anything yet.

"Right, exactly. It's just that the cut that you have on your forehead tells a different story."

Lily studied his face and saw that he didn't look mad, in fact, he looked amused. Did he know? Well even if he did, there was no way that she was going to come clean. Especially not when she was so close to discovering a secret of his.

"Oh that little thing? I fell in the bathroom this morning while getting ready. How clumsy of me."

"Mhmm, bathroom."

"Look Potter, I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast, if you want to ask someone else pointless questions, go right ahead, but leave me alone."

"Feisty, just how I like them."

"You make me sick."

"You know, I hear that when women get defensive, it only means one thing."

"I'm not afraid to curse you Potter."

"Fine, I was leaving anyways," he started walking away, but had only taken four steps when he turned around and added "By the way, the Whomping Willow has very particular taste."

Lily felt herself getting warm, and knew that she was blushing. Potter probably thought that she was some stalker now, what a nice way to increase his ego. Glancing back down at the Daily Prophet, Lily saw that there had been more attacks. Rumors suggested that it was work of Voldemort and his supporters; he was on the rise.

"Morning Lil," Amelie sat down by Lily and looked over her shoulder, reading the headline.

"Hey Amelie, I have some news."

As Lily retold the story of her adventure, Amelie's face lit up with wonder. However, she listened without saying a word, and when Lily was done, she slowly nodded her head.

"I wish you could of woken me up."

"Well I would of, but I thought that it was just Tristan again. Then, when I realized that it was actually Sirius and Potter, I had to follow them right away or I would of lost them," replied Lily.

"But so James knows that you saw them?"


	3. A Heavy Heart

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading! Okay so I realized that I completely cut off the end of Chapter 2. I'm not sure what happened but instead of editing it I'm going to start it here and then continue to Chapter 3. Sorry for any confusion!**

"But so James knows that you saw them?"

"I guess so, but like I said, he didn't look mad. It doesn't fit, if they were up to something bad he would of cared more," debated Lily.

"You're right. What I really want to know though, is who they were talking about."

"I have no idea, I thought that it was Lupin for sure, but it can't be."

"How odd. Come on though, let's head to class, we don't want to be late for potions," said Amelie, standing up and throwing her bag over her shoulder.

The girls got to class just on time and took spots at the table near the back of the room. Professor Slughorn beamed at Lily and called the class to order. Looking around Lily saw that not very many people had decided to continue taking potions, yet she was not surprised for it was a very tricky subject. What did surprise Lily though, was the fact that Sev was sitting with a girl.

Ever since their first year at Hogwarts, Lily and Sev had shared a love for potions, in fact he always joined her and Amelie at their table. Last year, after their fight, he sat alone at a table next to hers. But now he was sitting with a girl, and not just any girl. Natalia Berlova was in Slytherin, very pretty, and very clever. She was known for her ambition, and was also a member of the Slug Club. Looking closely, Lily saw that Natalia was now leaning towards Sev, excitedly whispering something into his ear. Something swelled up inside Lily as she slammed down her books and tried to pay attention to the lesson. Finding concentrating unbearable however, Lily turned to Amelie and nudged her in the ribs.

"Ow, what was that for," mumbled Amelie, looking taken aback.

"Look at Sev and Natalia over there, they look a bit cozy don't you think?"

"Yes actually, they do. How did Severus manage to get her to sit with him? All of the boys think that she is gorgeous," said Amelie looking struck with awe. Seeing the look on Lily's face however, she quickly changed the direction of the conversation.

"But I mean she's really not that attractive at all, Severus probably didn't even want for her to sit with him. I'm sure she just wants to copy his work," comforted Amelie.

"She doesn't have to copy his work, she is smart on her own."

"Lily, are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Of course not! I just want to know why he is so interested in her all of a sudden. I mean look at them, she's all over him."

And indeed, Natalia was now holding on to Sev's shoulder, writing down notes. Lily noticed that he looked rather smug, but not too happy. Then he turned around, and looked straight at her. Lily froze and quickly looked away, but not before she saw how hurt Sev looked.

After potions Lily had a free period during which she decided to take a walk down to the lake. She was by herself since Amelie had to go to Divination, a class that Lily had decided to drop. The water sparkled from the sun's rays and the sky was a brilliant blue; not a single cloud in sight. Sitting down by the water's edge, Lily put her head in her hands and dosed off. When she opened her eyes for the next time, she came within inches of Potter's face.

"Mind if I join you? I saw what happened in potions and then I saw you walking down here so I thought that I would, you know, check up on you."

"What exactly did you see in potions," inquired Lily.

"Snape and Berlova."

"Severus is at liberty to be friends with whomever he wants," stated Lily, trying to cover up her real thoughts.

"I have always liked you Lily," began James.

"Yes I'm aware of that."

"No, listen Lily. I have always liked you, not just because you're beautiful, but because you're not like the other girls. You are kind, witty, and strong. If Snape can't see that, then why are you wasting time on him? He didn't appreciate what he had, look at how easy it was for him to throw what you two shared away. I admire your courage, the way that you stand up for your friends, the way that you carry yourself. Look, basically what I'm trying to say is that the Lily that I know wouldn't stand to be treated this way. Don't let Snape do this to you," and standing up, James walked away.

Lily was left speechless and stunned. She never knew that Potter had so much insight, that he actually paid attention to who she was, not how she looked. But what astonished her the most was that he was precisely right. If a boy did to Amelie what Sev was doing to Lily, she would of put her foot down, and protected Amelie, knowing that her friend deserved better. Lily never made excuses for people like Potter and his friends, yet she made them for Sev.

There was always something that made Lily pity him; his parents, people making fun of him, the way that he was misunderstood. But deep down Lily knew that all of that was nonsense. Sev's circumstances weren't the best, but he went along with everything instead of fighting.

The rest of the day Lily sat through her classes, trying to think of what to do. Did she really have the strength to end her friendship with Sev, and if she did, was that even the right thing to do? By dinner time, Lily was starving. She sprinted down to the Great Hall and saved a spot for Amelie, who was almost always late. The girl joined her a few moments later and gave her a reassuring smile. Lost in her own thoughts, Lily didn't realize that everyone around her was silent. Glimpsing at the front of the Hall, she saw that Dumbledore was standing at his owl podium, holding up his hand, as if to gain attention.

"I stand here this evening with a heavy heart, less hopeful than I would like," began Dumbledore in a solemn tone. "Two hours ago, a muggle neighborhood was attacked by a group of Death Eaters. It is with deep regret that I inform you that Abby Brentwood's parents were murdered during the incident. Abby has been pulled out of Hogwarts by her grandmother, but I am sure that you will all send her your condolences. The world that we live in..."

Lily stopped listening as a big tear rolled down her cheek. Abby had been in Gryffindor and although her and Lily never became close friends, she was a very sweet girl, and they had shared the same dormitory. Lily couldn't imagine how someone got pleasure out of destroying families. It was unthinkable. Today it was Abby's parents, what about tomorrow? Lily's own parents were muggles who would be helpless if Death Eaters came knocking.

Feeling an arm wrap around her, Lily leaned against it, pressing her face into someone's chest. Then, regaining herself, she sat up and pulled away. James was reaching to her, holding out a handkerchief. Taking it, Lily nodded in thanks and looked down at her lap. All that could be heard was the clicking of spoons and forks. Except for the occasional whispers, no one was talking.

When it was time to head back to the Common Room, Lily rounded up the younger students and led them to the stairs. Now there was a lot of commotion seeing as everyone had processed what had happened, and was free to discuss it. As Lily passed people in other Houses, she heard that all of them were saying similar things.

"Can you believe it?"

"It's terrible isn't it?"

"Do you think that my parents will want for me to go home too?"

"This is a start of a war I'm telling you."

Lily pushed through, trying to avoid overhearing other's conversations. Bumping into someone, Lily stumbled and fell. Getting up, she came face to face with Sev. He looked as if he had seen a ghost for the first time. His face was whiter than she had ever seen it before, and his hands were shaking.

"Sev are you okay?"

She said it before she had a chance to stop herself. Breaking off their friendship had to wait. If he needed to be comforted Lily would be there for him like the old times. Lily waited patiently and looked into his eyes, wanting to decipher his thoughts.

"Why do you care? You have Potter now," snapped Severus before he disappeared into the crowd.

Once she was safe in the Common Room, Lily sat down in an arm chair and began writing her charms essay. Four scrolls of parchment due by next friday, not to mention all of the other homework that she had gotten even though it was only the first week back. However, after having written six lines, Lily realized that it would be impossible for her to finish now. All that she could think about was the look on Sev's face. Sev didn't personally know Abby, and although Lily couldn't say with complete certainty that her death wouldn't bother him, it was unlikely that that had been the cause of his anxiety.

"Hey Lil, how are you holding up?" asked Amelie, quietly walking up to Lily.

"I'm fine, it's just so sudden, so unexpected. Even Dumbledore looked worried, things must be getting serious. I just wish that we could do something to help, do something to fight back. I mean Voldemort has his Death Eaters, I don't see why Dumbledore hasn't created some sort of an organization himself."

"You don't know that he hasn't. Dumbledore works in mysterious ways, for all that we know he already has a plan up his sleeve," suggested Amelie.

"I hope so. I'm just a bit put out. My parents are muggles, I'm afraid for their safety. Also, I know that you don't want to hear about him, but I bumped into Sev when walking up here. He looked like a nightmare. I was just thinking, what if he had something to do with this?"

"Lily, you can't possibly mean that. He is sixteen, whatever he is up to wouldn't be that extreme."

"I know that, but I just have this feeling, an instinct almost," pressed Lily.

"Fine, personally I don't agree, but Professor Trelawney told me that it is always important to follow even the smallest of hunches."

"What are you saying?"

"I am saying that you need help finding out what Severus is up to," smiled Amelie.

"I hope that you're not about to tell me that Potter would be the perfect person to offer that help."

"Why not? Think about it Lily. You can put your differences for him aside for a brief period of time, can't you?"

As it turned out, Lily could. After having Amelie pursuade her for another fifteen minutes, she agreed to ask James and Sirius for help. There was no other way around it. Lily wasn't mischievous enough on her own to manage prying in Sev's business, and she was sure that both boys would be more than happy to accept her offer.

The next evening, Lily decided that it was time to act. She and Amelie both agreed that Lily had to be the one to ask for help since Sev was her friend and no one else really cared for him. Lily was surprisingly nervous; she could feel small butterflies in her stomach as she approached James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. The four boys were sitting huddled in the corner of the Common Room, looking distraught. For a second Lily thought about turning back and abandoning her plan, which seemed rather stupid and downright mad now. However, after remembering the importance of finding out more about Sev and his buddies, she pursued on.

"Hey guys. I was wondering if I could have a word?" asked Lily, shifting her gaze from one boy to the next.

"Well sure Lily," replied James, quickly standing up and offering her his seat.

"Oh thank you, but I'm okay standing up," breathed Lily. "I'm just going to get straight to the point. I need help, and with all of your records, well, I just thought that it seemed proper to ask the four of you."

"We would be honored," piped up James before any of the other boys had a chance to say anything. "What do you need done Lily? Do you want to sneak out of the castle at night? Do you want to know about secret passage ways? Are you trying to get into Hogsmeade? Or perhaps you want to pay another visit to the Whomping Willow?"

"No, no, it's not like that at all. I'm not trying to do anything for me," stammered Lily.

"Does Amelie need something? Is she okay?" asked Sirius, his eyes growing bigger.

"No, Amelie is okay. It's Sev actually."

"Snape? Lily, are you serious? You want for us to help Snape?" laughed James.

"Not help him personally, I just want to know what he is up to, he has been acting very mysteriously lately. He has been spending all of this time with Mulciber and Avery, and the way that they talk, it's like they're plotting something to help Voldemort. I know that they want to join him, but Sev is not like that," pleaded Lily.

"But I don't understand, how do we play into this Lil?" asked Remus.

"I need to spy on him, but I don't know how."

"This is out of the question," barked Sirius.

"Sirius come on, don't you want to know what Snape is up to? Once we find out, we can tell Dumbledore and then Snape's perfect student reputation will go out the window," whispered James, his face glowing.

"Get off it James, Lily wouldn't let that happen," fought back Sirius. "You know how I feel about Snape. Listen Lily, I came from a family who is obsessed with the whole pure blood mania, but I didn't follow in their footsteps. I was the first person to be in Gryffindor, my own mother disowned me, but I continued finding my own path. Snape…"

"It's not like that! Sev's family is different!"

"It doesn't matter, we're straying off subject. Lily, I will help you," promised James. "And guys, I would really appreciate having some company. If Snape is really trying to help Voldemort, then we need to put a stop to it."

"Fine, I'm in. But don't think that I'm going to do anything to get him out of his mess," warned Sirius.

"Well, it doesn't matter what I say, because I will end up doing something anyway," smiled Remus.

"I'm always happy to help a friend," screeched Peter.

"Thank you all so much! Now, can we meet in the library tomorrow to discuss a plan? I want to get to the bottom of this before it's too late," suggested Lily.

"Tomorrow works for me," said James.

When the rest of the boys agreed on the meeting, Lily walked upstairs to the dormitory to share the news with Amelie. For the first time, she felt in control. Lily knew that it would be wrong to break school rules, but she saw no way out. She wasn't going to sit around and watch Sev throw away his life.


End file.
